Dear Lower Alabama Bug guy, These are Two-Striped Walkingsticks in the genus Anisomorpha, commonly called Muskmares because the much smaller male rides the larger female during mating, as your image illustrates, and because, according to BugGuide: “Members of this genus can deliver a chemical spray to the eyes that can cause corneal damage.”

Subject: Mantid for identification Geographic location of the bug: near Kaeng Krachan NP, Thailand Date: 04/17/2018 Time: 03:06 PM EDT Your letter to the bugman: Any help with the identification of this Mantid would be much appreciated. How you want your letter signed: Many thanks Steve

Leaf Insect

Dear Steve, This is not a Mantid. It is a Leaf Insect in the order Phasmida, and we have some amazing images in our archive where a Leaf Insect is being eaten by a Mantid in Thailand. Our current research found matching images on Dreamtime and Shutterstock but there is no species name. The website we used in our initial identification of the species is no longer active, but we did find images of Phyllium siccifolium on BugWorld and on Our Breathing Planet where it states: “Phyllium Siccifolium is a type of leaf insect which has no acknowledged common name. It was, in fact, the first species of leaf insect recognized. Like all species of this type of insect, they remain masters of camouflage. They are primarily active at either dusk or night. Phyllium Siccifolium is entirely herbivorous by nature.”

Subject: White Walking Stick Geographic location of the bug: Costa Rica Date: 01/22/2018 Time: 10:20 PM EDT Your letter to the bugman: I spotted this very small (only a few cm) walking stick like insect at Rainmaker Conservatory outside of Quepos in Costa Rica. It looked more like the small white roots around where it was spotted. I was only able to find stock photos of it on google under “albino walking stick,” but with no ID. Any help would be wonderful. How you want your letter signed: Clayton M

Thanks for your reply! I also posted the picture on Reddit, and someone said it might be a very immature Moss Mimic Stick which makes a lot of sense based on the head, antennae, and how it holds its abdomen.

Subject: What kind is it? Geographic location of the bug: Paupa New Guinea ( western Highlands) Date: 01/06/2018 Time: 10:50 AM EDT Worked up here for eight years never seen this one before How you want your letter signed: Don know what you mean

Stick Insect

This is a Stick Insect in the order Phasmida. Spineless Wonders has some nice images of New Guinea Stick Insects, but none resemble your individual. Perhaps one of our readers will recognize the species.

Stick Insect

Update: Photoshop or not???In trying to address a comment from SR that this is a photoshop creation, we maintain it is not, so we have cropped tighter to show more detail. The original image has very low resolution.

Subject: Stick insect from Peru Geographic location of the bug: Amazon rainforest in Peru Date: 11/21/2017 Time: 01:29 AM EDT Hi, This is another stick insect, but this time I think it’s a mature specimen. It was on august 2009, in Peru amazonia. Can you help me to identify the species? Thanks. How you want your letter signed: Ferran Lizana

Stick Insect

Hello again Ferran, We found an image on Alamy of mating Stick Insects from Peru that looks exactly like your male Stick Insect, but alas, it is not identified by species. Based on this Insetologia image, this FlickR image and this BioDiversidade image, we believe it might be in the genus Paraphasma.

Thanks one more time, Daniel. I can see that stick insects are very difficult to identify, so my thanks to you are strong this time. I’ll send you more insects soon. 😉 Ferran

Subject: Stick insect in Tanzania Geographic location of the bug: Tanzania, probably in Tarangire park. Date: 11/19/2017 Time: 04:11 PM EDT Hi again, I know nothing about stick insects, so for me it’s difficult to identify the species. It was on may 2016. I hope you can help me. Thank you. How you want your letter signed: Ferran Lizana

Stick Insect

Dear Ferran, This appears to be an immature individual, and correct identification of mature specimens is often quite difficult. We are unable to provide you with a species identification at this time, but perhaps one of our readers will provide a comment.